Holiday Season Israeli Apartheid Viciousness in Occupied Palestine

Holiday Season Israeli Apartheid Viciousness in Occupied Palestine

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Israeli state terror against Palestinians continues year-round, no holiday season break taken - two million Gazans terrorized most of all.

Since March 30 nonviolent Great March of Return protests began, around 225 Gazan men, women, children, journalists and medical workers were killed in cold blood. 

About 25,000 others were injured, many seriously, including wounds requiring amputations of limbs. Israel remains unaccountable for grave breaches of international law because of world community indifference, along with full US support and encouragement to terrorize Palestinians with impunity.

Extremist settlers commit violence and vandalism against Palestinians with impunity. Israel refuses to hold them accountable, including for serious crimes. Rare exceptions prove the rule.

The same goes for Israeli soldiers, police, and other security forces, permitted to kill and otherwise abuse Palestinians unaccountably - trained to terrorize them, including by committing violent crimes.

On December 19, hardline Israeli Knesset members overwhelmingly passed the first reading of a bill to dispossess families and other relatives of Palestinians rightly or wrongfully accused of attacking Jews.

Days before the vote, the Knesset's ministerial committee approved the repressive measure introduced by Islamophobic extremist Naftali Bennett. 

Attorney general Avihai Mandelblit and Shin Bet oppose the measure - unrelated to its flagrant illegality and oppressiveness, solely fearing enactment could greatly heighten tensions and increase violence.

Netanyahu welcomed it, saying its "benefit" outweighs its "damage." Separately, he called for expediting demolition of homes belonging to family members of Palestinians accused of attacks on Jews.

Joint (Arab) List MK Ahmed al-Tibi condemned the measure, calling it "a bill by war criminals who shall eventually be internationally prosecuted."

Enactment looks certain after second and third readings. Other repressive laws are likely ahead of April 2019 elections, Netanyahu and Likudniks way of showing criminal toughness against defenseless Palestinians.

The Trump regime cut over $300 million in UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) aid, providing vital services for millions of Palestinian refugees.

Another $200 million in humanitarian aid for Palestinians was cut months later - the Trump and Netanyahu regimes complicit in persecuting and collectively punishing their people.

Because of the cuts, the UN World Food Program announced sharp cutbacks in aid for lack of enough funding - around 190,000 Gazans affected, another 27,000 West Bank Palestinians.

Aid to another 165,000 Gazans will be cut by about 20%. UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Jamie McGoldrick described conditions in Gaza as "a collapsing system in free-fall."

He issued an emergency call for $350 million from UN member states in humanitarian aid for long-suffering Palestinians, Gazans most of all.

Their persecution is greatly exacerbated by PA complicity with Israel, especially by appointed president Mahmoud Abbas. He and his cronies benefit greatly by serving as Israel's enforcer.

It remains to be seen if he follows through on a PA cabinet meeting decision to ban entry of Israeli produce and poultry into Palestinian markets - in response to Israel's announced ban on Palestinian fruits, vegetables, and poultry into Jewish markets.

A PA statement said "in accordance with the principle of protecting the local produce and the Palestinian farmer in order to achieve the government's policy of supporting the steadfastness of the Palestinian farmers and in light of the unilateral Israeli decision to prevent the entry of Palestinian vegetables and fruits into Israeli markets, the government decided to prevent the entry of all kinds of vegetables, fruits and poultry into the Palestinian markets."

The Israeli decision came after the PA banned Israeli livestock in Palestinian markets to protect its farmers.

The so-called bilateral trade agreement (sic) is all one way, whatever benefits Israel at the expense of ruthlessly exploited Palestinians, the way the relationship has been in all respects.

Israel is the grinch that steals fundamental Palestinian rights year-round. The world community yawns and does nothing to change things.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

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US Rage for Endless Wars Threatens World Peace in the New Year

US Rage for Endless Wars Threatens World Peace in the New Year

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Washington's hegemonic aims, under Republicans and undemocratic Dems, represent the greatest threat to world peace and humanity's survival.

At his annual marathon Q & A news conference last week, Vladimir Putin warned about possible nuclear war, a growing threat because of Washington's reckless geopolitical agenda, including withdrawal from the Iran (JCPOA) nuclear deal and INF Treaty, as well as its reluctance to negotiate extending New Start (April 2010) on reducing and limiting strategic weapons, expiring in February 2021 if not renewed.

Based on bad advice from regime hardliners, Trump falsely called New Start a bad deal favoring Russia. It's nothing of the kind. It's even-handed, shifting things to less war and more peace globally.

Last October, John Bolton called for withdrawing from New Start. He convinced Trump to abandon the JCPOA and INF Treaty. He advocates greater US toughness against all sovereign independent countries.

Before becoming Trump's national security advisor, he urged terror-bombing Iran and North Korea, sanctions not enough, he said, diplomacy "a waste of time."

He claimed "Iran will not negotiate its (nonexistent) nuclear (weapons) program." He urged "military action like Israel's 1981 attack on Saddam Hussein's Osirak reactor in Iraq..."

He said "(t)he way to end (North Korea's nuclear program) is to end the North."

New Start calls for reducing the number of strategic nuclear missile launchers by half. It limits the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1,500.

It also limits the number of ICBMs, submarine-launched ballistic missile launchers, and nuclear capable heavy warplanes. 

It calls for satellite and other monitoring, as well as annual on-site inspections to assure both sides comply with terms agreed on.

Bolton, Pompeo, and other Trump regime hardliners want restraints on its weapons development and deployments eliminated, part of Washington's permanent war agenda.

They want all nations worldwide colonized and controlled, Russia, China, and Iran transformed into US vassal states their main objective, eliminating the only challenges to Washington's aim for global hegemony.

Its geopolitical agenda "could lead to the destruction of civilization as a whole and maybe even our planet," Putin warned, adding:

"We are witnessing the breakup of the arms control system," heightening the threat of possible nuclear war by accident or design.

Putin stressed that Moscow has no intention of "gaining unilateral advantages. We aren't seeking advantages. We are trying to preserve the balance and ensure our security."

The US "need(s) an (invented) external threat to cement NATO unity...As for ruling the world, we know where the headquarters trying to do that (is) located, and the place isn't Moscow."

Trump was co-opted straightaway in office by dark forces controlling him - preventing any chance for improved US relations with Russia, things increasingly moving ominously in the opposite direction.

As for US reluctance to extend New Start, Putin called it "very bad for the whole of humankind, because it would take us to a very dangerous area."

Last October, Putin stressed that Russia wants world peace. He has no intention of ordering a preemptive attack on another country with nuclear or any other weapons.

It's prepared to retaliate strongly against an aggressor state, saying "(o)ur concept is a response to a preemptive strike. For those who know, there's no need to explain what it is, but for the uninitiated I will say it again." 

"(W)e are ready and will use nuclear weapons only when we make sure that someone, a potential aggressor, strikes at Russia, at our territory."

"The aggressor must know that retribution is inevitable, that it will be destroyed. And we, the victims of aggression, will go to heaven as martyrs, while they will simply die, because they will not even have time to repent."

Putin understands that no matter how much Trump may favor normalizing US/Russia relations, his hands are tied by Russophobic regime hardliners and nearly the entire Congress.

If the US deploys short and intermediate-range, nuclear warhead capable missiles near Russia's border, they'll be targeted by the country's military, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained, saying:

Putin "meant what he had already explained many times. The thing is that the withdrawal from the INF Treaty may potentially entail the deployment of short and medium-range missiles in Europe..."

"The deployment of those missiles there and the possibility of them being aimed at Russia would lead to a situation in which Russia will have to target its missile arsenal at them to create parity."

Trump regime hardliners seem hellbent on an arms race, Russia, China and Iran their primary targets, including enormous amounts of money spent on upgrading and deploying the Pentagon's nuclear capabilities.

Russia is preparing to effectively counter the enormous threat Washington poses to its security - at a small fraction of the Pentagon's budget.

Its super-weapons exceed America's best, including its Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, capable of traveling at over 19,000 miles per hour, able to carry multiple nuclear warheads aimed at separate targets, capable of trajectory changes in flight. 

The US has nothing able to intercept it, rendering its missile defense systems useless.

Pursuing world peace is the only sensible course. The alternative risks destruction of all life forms on earth.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Photo: By El Comandante - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, http://bit.ly/2GOVJ0X

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Ukraine's Putschist Regime Planning Belligerent Provocation Along Russia's Border

Ukraine's Putschist Regime Planning Belligerent Provocation Along Russia's Border

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

The US-installed, Nazi-infested, Kiev regime represents militant fascist extremism in Europe's heartland - supported by Brussels instead of denouncing its illegitimacy and threat to European and world peace.

The Obama regime transformed democratic Ukraine into a US vassal state, supported by Trump regime hardliners, using the country as dagger aimed at Russia's heartland.

Flashpoint conditions are hugely dangerous. On Monday, Sergey Lavrov warned that US-installed puppet president Poroshenko "is planning an armed provocation on the border with Russia, on the border with Crimea, during the last ten days of December."

What's likely coming follows the Kiev regime's hostile November 25 made-in-the-USA Kerch Strait provocation in Russia waters. The same holds for what Lavrov warned about.

Kiev is a proxy for US imperial interests, its actions directed by Washington, including earlier war on Donbass, followed by repeated provocations, likely heading toward resuming full-scale hostilities, its US/UK armed and trained troops mobilized along its border for war.

A belligerent act along Russia's border risks East/West confrontation. Lavrov said Moscow has no intention of attacking Ukraine.

Russian forces aren't mobilized along its border to invade. No "Russian aggression" against the country occurred earlier or is planned now.

Poroshenko lied claiming otherwise. He has virtually no chance to be reelected in next March's presidential election, his public support less than 10%.

His declaration of martial law in areas along Russia's border, and phony threat of an invasion by its forces, is a scheme aiming to help him retain power, likely what's behind the Kerch Strait incident and threat Lavrov warned about.

Maybe other provocations will follow - everything ongoing and planned directed and supported by the Trump regime, part of its unrelenting anti-Russia hostility.

While Moscow has no intention to attack Ukraine, it'll respond defensively if Kiev stages a provocation on its border, Lavrov explained, adding:

"They will regret it. This is our country. This is our border. We will not allow (Poroshenko) to try to somehow protect his interests, the way he sees it, and violate those rights...Crimeans (will be) protected in full accordance with international law."

Poroshenko's sponsors in Washington and Brussels "advise him to keep low intens(ive) combat actions to enable them to go ahead with propaganda that Russians are carrying out an offensive against Ukraine and that's why Russia needs to be hit by sanctions, but military actions should never switch into a phase that will be followed by full-scale responses."

His US-orchestrated scheme won't work. "Our respective services are making all necessary efforts to thwart" his actions.

Separately, Lavrov said the Kremlin won't recognize the anti-fascist/democratic republics of Donetsk and Lugansk because it would "lose the rest of Ukraine" to its Nazi-infested regime.

It was lost after the Obama regime's February 2014 coup. Russia showed weakness by not contesting events as they unfolded from late 2013 through the toppling of Ukraine's democratically elected government, replacing it with illegitimate fascist tyranny.

Putin showed strength by recognizing the right of Crimeans to rejoin Russia, wanting a historic mistake corrected.

He showed weakness by refusing to recognize the breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk republics, refusing to accept tyrannical rule. 

He should have been willing earlier and now to let these bordering states join Russia. Failure let war and related violence fester endlessly for over four years, no end of it in prospect.

It could have been prevented if Putin did the right thing. Lavrov was wrong saying there's "no alternative to the Minsk (peace) agreements."

They failed because Washington rejected them, rendering them exercises in futility. The same goes for peace talks in other US-initiated conflict theaters.

Republicans and Dems consider peace, stability, rule of law principles, and democratic governance abhorrent, notions they reject at home and abroad.

It's why diplomatic outreach to Washington is counterproductive, accomplishing nothing, showing weakness, not strength.

The only language the US understands is toughness. Diplomacy with hegemons doesn't work.

The US is as hostile to peace, equity and just governance as other rogue states. Challenging its hostile agenda is the only effective strategy. 

Nothing else can work, a lesson China understands, not Russia, pretending a nonexistent partnership with hegemonic Washington exists.

Its ruling authorities are hellbent for conquering and colonizing the Russian Federation. 

Challenging its imperial agenda is the only viable option. No others can work. They haven't for over a century since the 1917 Russian revolution - nor will they going forward.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

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Russian Foreign Ministry on Syria, Ukraine, and Phony US Election Meddling

Russian Foreign Ministry on Syria, Ukraine, and Phony US Election Meddling

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Endless war in Syria continues despite most parts of the country liberated from US-supported terrorists.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (MZ below) said work continues to implement "the Russian-Turkish Memorandum on Idlib of September 17...to eliminate the terrorist presence in that zone at minimal cost to civilians."

She failed to explain that Erdogan betrayed Putin straightaway, supporting the scourge of terrorism in Idlib, and elsewhere in the country, he pretends to oppose.

He continues occupying northern Syrian territory illegally - wanting it annexed, a major obstacle to the country's liberation. Washington's imperial objective in Syria is the single greatest obstacle to conflict resolution.

The good news is that displaced refugees continue returning to liberated areas. Russia is spearheading the delivery of humanitarian aid to countless thousands of Syrians.

The US, other Western countries and UN supply none, except to areas controlled by terrorists, the pattern throughout years of war - Obama's war, now Trump's, wanting Syria transformed into another US vassal state, Assad toppled, a pro-Western puppet replacing him.

That's what endless war has been about since launched. MZ at best only touches on the hardest of hard truths, including US support for ISIS and other terrorists - pretending to be combatting the scourge of terrorism it supports, in Syria and in other countries.

MZ: "We regard our role in the socio-economic reconstruction of Syria as an important element in strengthening Russia-Syria relations," adding:

"Intensive contacts are underway which seek to advance the political settlement in Syria, to form a Constitutional Committee and then to launch it in Geneva under the decisions taken by the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi."

MZ failed to explain that years of diplomatic talks in Geneva, Astana, and Sochi since 2012 achieved no significant breakthroughs - because Washington, NATO, the Saudis and Israel want endless war, not resolution.

Success in the country to liberate areas has come on the ground from Syrian forces, greatly aided by Russian aerial operations - not diplomacy.

To her credit, MZ condemned illegal US occupation of northern and southern Syrian territory. Conflict resolution is unattainable as long as things remain the same - along with support for jihadists in the country by Washington and its imperial allies.

The US-installed regime in Kiev mobilized thousands of forces for war on Donbass along its border. It appears imminent, likely more intensively than in 2014 and 2015.

MZ: "(W)e continue to see alarming reports from that region. According to available information, Kiev is plotting an armed provocation on the line of contact, taking advantage of the imposed martial law, including in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, to stage a surge attack in the direction of Mariupol in order to seize the Donetsk-controlled areas along the Sea of Azov and reach the border with Russia." 

"The attack is to be conducted by a massed troop contingent that the AFU has been reinforcing over the past few months, as repeatedly reported by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. From December 1 to 7 alone, OSCE monitors discovered 190 units of heavy weapons prohibited by the Minsk Agreements outside the designated storage facilities."

Puppet president Poroshenko appears hellbent for full-scale war along Russia's border - in cahoots with the US, Britain and France, perhaps intending another cross-border provocation, aiming to draw Moscow into the conflict, likely wanting the Trump regime to get directly involved.

The human rights situation in Ukraine is deplorable, things deteriorating, not improving, MZ explained.

Nazi-infested fascists run things, contemptuous of fundamental rights of ordinary people, treating them ruthlessly, why Poroshenko is overwhelmingly reviled, his approval rating in single digits.

He's waging war on independent journalists, human rights workers, and anyone criticizing his regime. Russian nationals in the country are endangered, including Russian diplomatic missions and diplomats, MZ saying:

"We have the capacity to respond to (abusive actions). And we will do so unless measures are taken to protect the security of" Russian personnel in the country.

The Kiev regime "should know (it's) gone too far. (It) will not get away with" its hostile actions.

"Kiev is using the contrived anti-Russia hysteria to curry favor with the nationalist electorate, intimidate Russian speakers and drive them underground, as well as demonstrating activity, even though the goal of this activity is unclear. Those who refuse to toe the line following such 'preventive treatment' are arrested (or) killed."

"The recent statements made by the Ukrainian authorities regarding their commitment to democratic European values sound especially cynical against the backdrop of the ongoing excesses." 

"But their Western curators pretend not to see this and even express their support. The flagrant violations of human rights in the fields of language, ethnicity and religion are rapidly pushing Ukraine towards a red line."

The Big Lie about (nonexistent) Russian US election meddling refuses to die since surfacing in 2016 - proof never backing accusations because none exists.

Virtually everyone in Washington and the West knows what's going on - while going along with the colossal hoax, part of longstanding Russia bashing.

MZ: "The recent statements made by the Ukrainian authorities regarding their commitment to democratic European values sound especially cynical against the backdrop of the ongoing excesses." 

"But their Western curators pretend not to see this and even express their support. The flagrant violations of human rights in the fields of language, ethnicity and religion are rapidly pushing Ukraine towards a red line."

The material was rubbish amounting to nothing. "Even a schoolchild can understand that all this is a fanciful and brazen fake," said MZ.

"No evidence has been found of the participation of Russian citizens...organizations," or anyone else connected to the Kremlin involved in US election meddling - a longstanding US specialty worldwide.

Moscow respects international law and the sovereign rights of other nations - polar opposite how the US, NATO, Israel, and their imperial allies operate.

Phony claims about Russian meddling amount to "a theater of the absurd," said MZ, calling for "an end to this farce."

Hardliners in Washington consider Russia their number one enemy. It's long past time for Kremlin officials to stop pretending the US and Moscow are partners. Suggesting or believing it is utter nonsense.

US rage against Russia risks direct confrontation. The same goes for China and Iran. It's why I've often said and repeat again that things could be heading for potentially humanity destroying nuclear war by accident or design.

WW I and II were waged with conventional weapons, other than the gratuitous nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the war was won.

The next global war, if waged, could and likely will involve use of nukes in earnest. If so, Einstein was right. Future war(s) thereafter will be with sticks and stones - providing anyone on earth survives.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Photo: By Frank Baulo, CC BY-SA 3.0, http://bit.ly/2GLxelt

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US War by Other Means

US War by Other Means

The US is permanently at war to achieve and sustain dominance over planet earth, its resources and populations. 

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

The US is permanently at war to achieve and sustain dominance over planet earth, its resources and populations. 

Republicans and undemocratic Dems want all nations colonized as US vassal states - no exceptions. They want ruling regimes bending to Washington's will. That's what imperialism is all about.

They want no outliers - notably not Russia and China, the only nations able to challenge Washington's aim to rule the world. 

US wars go way beyond attacking countries militarily. Other tactics include targeting nations politically, economically, financially, through trade, by weaponized sanctions, vilifying propaganda, and other means.

US imperial hard ball isn't pretty, most Americans ignorant about how Washington operates, demanding everything, yielding nothing.

What's gone on post-WW II is a conspiracy against rule of law principles and responsible governance, absent in America, a democracy in name only, a notion its policymakers abhor, the US an increasingly totalitarian plutocracy run by and for privileged interests exclusively.

Make no mistake. Washington is at war with Russia, China, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and other sovereign independent states - waging cold war at risk of turning hot against any or all of them.

The US wants these countries marginalized, weakened, contained and isolated, its tactics similar to how boxers soften up opponents with repeated body blows before delivering a knockout punch.

US war on Russia rages politically, economically, financially, through illegal sanctions, and by intense vilifying propaganda.

Aiming to co-opt and colonize the country, US war on its economy rages. That's what vilifying propaganda, false accusations, and weaponized sanctions are all about.

The latest body blow came on December 11. US House members unanimously adopted a resolution, calling for the Trump regime to severely penalize EU nations and enterprises participating in Russia's Nord Stream II gas pipeline project - wanting stiff sanctions imposed under the so-called Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) - targeting Russia, Iran and North Korea.

When completed, Nord Stream II will be the world's longest underwater pipeline, a major engineering achievement.

It'll be able to deliver 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas from beneath the Baltic Sea, its capacity to be doubled by an additional line, the project scheduled for completion by late 2019 or early 2020. 

Russia's world's largest natural gas reserves and proximity to other European countries makes it the most logical supplier of their needs.

Nord Stream II will run from Russia's border, below the Baltic Sea to Germany, crossing Russian and German waters, along with economic zones of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.

Five European companies are involved in construction - including France's Engie, Austria's OMV AG, Germany's Uniper and Wintershall, along with Royal Dutch Shell. Brussels, including economic powerhouse Germany, strongly supports the project. 

The Trump regime lied claiming it'll undermine European energy security and stability. Polar opposite is true. It'll be an economic and energy boon for countries benefitting from the project.

Trump regime Russophobes want America replacing Moscow as Europe's main natural gas supplier, despite an ocean separating both continents, making it advantageous for EU countries to rely heavily on Russia for their LNG needs - impractical and expensive to ship it from the US.

Trump regime hardliners, including DLT, are going all-out to undermine Nord Stream II, intending to impose sanctions on European nations and companies involved in its construction.

Germany is key. Days earlier, its Foreign Minister Heiko Maas defended the project, stressing it makes no sense to abandon it. As long as Berlin maintains support, the Trump regime's aim to undermine construction most likely will fail. 

Austria's OMV energy group CEO Rayner Zele said his company intends to continue financing the pipeline next year. It's already invested over $600 million in the project.

Overwhelming US bipartisan hostility toward Russia is all about wanting it undermined politically, economically, financially and militarily - ahead of aiming to deliver a knockout blow by military or other means to transform the country into a US vassal state.

The same strategy is in play against China, the only nation able to challenge the US economically, industrially, and technologically.

That's what trade war with Beijing is all about. It's about trying to undermine Beijing's "Made in China 2025" strategy.

It's about wanting to sabotage its aim to advance 10 economic sectors to world-class status, including information technology, high-end machinery and robotics, aerospace, marine equipment and ships, advanced rail transport, new-energy vehicles, electric power, agricultural machinery, new materials and biomedical products.

It's about wanting China prevented  from becoming an economic powerhouse, especially in sophisticated technological areas, able to challenge and perhaps surpass America's dominance.

The trade deficit is largely a distraction, concealing US aims to co-opt, colonize, and control China, an objective risking possible nuclear war if US hardliners push things too far.

Saudi Arabia is the latest US target. Furor over Jamal Khashoggi's murder is all about wanting control over the kingdom sustained.

It's got nothing to do with his elimination or horrendous Saudi human rights abuses internally and abroad - the latter a non-issue for nearly a century in Riyadh's relations with the West.

Legal/political analyst Darius Shahtahmasebi explained the key reason behind the furor over Khashoggi's murder, why the CIA wants him replaced as crown prince, why Congress opposes him.

Ruling authorities in Washington don't give a hoot about Saudi despotism, its junior partnership with US war in Yemen or its other unlawful actions. 

The same goes for all other countries. Republicans and Dems support the world's most ruthless tinpot despots - in the Middle East and elsewhere. 

They turn a blind eye to intolerable Israeli apartheid, its state terror, and other high crimes. 

The only US issue with Saudi Arabia's crown prince is he's "too 'independent' for the United States' liking," Shahtahmasebi explained, notably its energy and other dealings with Russia.

Kremlin/Riyadh talks about buying Russia's sophisticated S-400 air defense systems, weapons, munitions, and perhaps other purchases infuriates the Washington.

The US also fears that the Saudis will abandon the petrodollar by selling oil to China in yuan, what Beijing apparently demands.

If Riyadh goes along, other Gulf states will likely follow to accommodate China, the world's largest oil consumer.

Things most often aren't as they seem. US furor over Khashoggi's murder is largely about wanting control over the Saudis sustained.

MBS is considered unreliable and untrustworthy, why the CIA wants him replaced with a crown prince the US controls.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

 My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Photo: By Vasily Vereshchagin - CD-ROM "Государственная Третьяковская галерея". Издание 2-е; Допол. Издательство: AlexSoft, 2004, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=352722

The Apotheosis of war

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Rape: Afghan Women's Soccer Team - the latest victim of FIST

Rape: Afghan Women's Soccer Team - the latest victim of FIST

Rape allegations against Afghan soccer officials are just the latest scandal to hit the news. Let us all show solidarity, let us all make change happen

FIST - Fear, Impunity, Silence, Terror

Allegations of rape, sexual harassment, psychological and physical abuse. This time around, in the midst of the Afghan Women's Soccer Team. Fear of reprisals, forced emigration, sacking from the team, counter-accusations of homosexual (lesbian) acts, political asylum abroad for self-preservation... the same old story which we have heard before time and time and time and time and time and time and time and time again.

The Afghan Government is investigating. FIFA is investigating, finally, after being aware of the problem for some time. Watch this space. YAWN.

FIST - Fear, Impunity, Silence, Terror

Unless the international community, and I mean people, since Governments have led us all to the state we are in, do something about this, rape and sexual harassment are going to continue, women and going to be silenced, victims of FIST - Fear, Impunity, Silence, Terror.

"OK coach so I got this problem. This girl is accusing me of rape and it's getting serious, like I didn't do anything! She comes into my bedroom all dolled up and comes on to me, kissing, her nails all painted black and wearing a mini skirt, so I kiss her back, then she falls back on the bed, I take her panties off and we have sex. Next thing I know she's going psycho on me! Like what the f*** did she expect?"

"OK son, don't worry, don't say anything to anyone, we keep this in the team. We'll take care of it, just concentrate on your training".

                                             *                               *                             *

"What happened to you?"

"Nothing"

"Come on, nothing?? Who did this to you?"

"Nobody"

"Look you know you can count on me, just tell me what happened"

"I...I just went to Jason's apartment...we'd had a drink together, like I had one beer...he's real nice, and cute, so we went back to his place. I thought we maybe have a few kisses but that's it, nothing more, just a nice first date. The rest I don't know, it was all hazy. I know I went to his room, then we kissed, then he started going crazy calling me a whore and a slut and slapping me, then he threw me on the bed, tore off my panties and raped me. I was saying No! No! No! Stop! Please stop! But he didn't. Then when he finished he asked me if I enjoyed it, and I just got dressed and ran out of the room. I don't even remember where I went, next thing I knew I was running down the road towards home. I had a hot bath, three hot baths actually, then curled up in bed. I'm confused, I don't know what to do".

"Well my advice is don't. If you tell our group of friends they won't wanna know, they'll refer to you as "the slut", people don't like trouble, they walk away. Jason will be defended by his coach and the men will all pull together and if you go to the cops, they'll insinuate you started it and ask you if you painted your nails, how many drinks you had, what you were wearing, if you went voluntarily to his room, if you kissed him first, if you told him he was sexy, if you said STOP and he heard you, before he started having sex or afterwards... you'll lose your scholarship and end up doing waitress jobs in canteens. Just put it behind you and put it down as a bad experience".

*                            *                             *

Alison hasn't been out of her room for six weeks. She spends all day curled up in a ball on her bed, staring at the wall, her eyes glazed and hazy, unblinking and fixed, as she relives the nightmare of her gang-raped after she was invited to a Bachelor Party to earn a few bucks doing a pole dance. It ended up with blood everywhere, her vagina and anus turn apart as she lay gasping and throbbing with pain after twelve sex-crazed, coke-stoked drunken thugs, living an orgy of collective testosterone, raped her over and over again, yelling and howling, treating her like a sex toy, then bragging about how many times they "screwed the whore". Today they go on their way as if nothing had happened. Paul got married and went on honeymoon to the Maldives less than twenty-four hours after the incident which took Alison's life. Just two seconds ago, she gave her last breath. Slashing her neck with a razor blade was a better future than what she had.

FIST - Fear, Impunity, Silence, Terror

"Well what's wrong with them? They play soccer don't they? They like a bit of physical exercise. What are they, lesbians? Well then, they get what they deserve. Look don't create any problems here, take this, it's 500,000 dollars, unmarked notes, cash. Just walk away. The alternative is to be thrown into jail, my brother-in-law will see to that believe me".

And so the stories go on. These are the ones we hear, for in some countries over ninety per cent of rapes go unreported, because of FIST, fear of reprisals, impunity for the perpetrator(s), who will use their social network to protect themselves, the ensuing silence of the victim who feels it is easier to keep quiet and come to terms with what happened, even pretending she enjoyed it due to the terror of what will happen if she speaks out. She may even be stoned to death because to have been raped means she was "asking for it" or because her family believes their honor has been damaged and so she will be doused in gasoline and burnt to death.

According to UN Women, 35 per cent of women worldwide, at least, will have experienced some form of sexual or physical intimate partner violence or sexual violence by a non-partner during their lives. In some countries or regions, the figure rises to 70 per cent.

Statistics

http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/facts-and-figures

Planet Earth, 2018. Turn a blind eye, sweep it under the carpet, pretend it didn't happen, make out that all is rosy and to Hell with the victims? Or do something about it.

Rape is not OK, it is not normal, it is a violent crime and must be reported because the rapist will do it again. And again. And again.And those who know and do not report are as guilty as the perpetrator. Time to make things happen.

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey

Pravda.Ru 

Twitter: @TimothyBHinchey

timothy.hinchey@gmail.com

  

*Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey has worked as a correspondent, journalist, deputy editor, editor, chief editor, director, project manager, executive director, partner and owner of printed and online daily, weekly, monthly and yearly publications, TV stations and media groups printed, aired and distributed in Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Portugal, Mozambique and São Tomé and Principe Isles; the Russian Foreign Ministry publication Dialog and the Cuban Foreign Ministry Official Publications. He has spent the last two decades in humanitarian projects, connecting communities, working to document and catalog disappearing languages, cultures, traditions, working to network with the LGBT communities helping to set up shelters for abused or frightened victims and as Media Partner with UN Women, working to foster the UN Women project to fight against gender violence and to strive for an end to sexism, racism and homophobia. A Vegan, he is also a Media Partner of Humane Society International, fighting for animal rights. He is Director and Chief Editor of the Portuguese version of Pravda.Ru. He is an official translator, a coach, a consultant and a professor.

Join the most international forum on the Net

http://engforum.pravda.ru/

  

Photo: Por Edgar Degas - www.philamuseum.org, Domínio público, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1170064

Degas, Interior (the rape)

  

  

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Israeli Home Demolitions: Ethnic Cleansing, State Terror, and Collective Punishment

Israeli Home Demolitions: Ethnic Cleansing, State Terror, and Collective Punishment

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Israel has lots of ways to terrorize long-suffering Palestinians, demolishing homes one of its many oppressive tactics.

According to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), "dozens of actions are taken against Palestinians" in the Occupied Territories daily.

They constitute an endless Israeli reign of terror on millions of beleaguered people, the world community dismissive about what's gone on unaccountably for the past 70 years.

Since illegally occupying the West Bank and East Jerusalem in June 1967, Israel destroyed "52,000 (Palestinian) homes and structures," ICAHD explained, high crimes against humanity without punishment.

Israel gets away with mass murder and much more because the world community doesn't give a hoot about Palestinian rights and welfare.

Throughout the history of the Jewish state, no Israeli political or military official was ever held accountable for what legitimate tribunals would throw the book at.

Key for the Jewish state is sustained US political, economic, and military support. As long as the special relationship exists, Israel is free to flagrantly breach international laws, norms, and standards multiple times daily with impunity.

Demolishing the homes, structures, and other property of Palestinians is one of its most vicious tactics, thousands of families left homeless.

ICAHD earlier reported on the demolition of Atta Jaber's farm. His family home was demolished twice.

Calling his case "special," ICAHD said "(h)e and his family represent every level of resistance to Israeli occupation, from just trying to eke out a living from a tiny farm whose land Israel claims, to having a roof over their heads, to having to defend their home from nearby settlers (who once occupied and burned it), to being beaten and imprisoned by the Israeli army, to testifying before the UN's Human Rights Council in Geneva."

Israel's Civil Administration illegally and repressively declared  land he, his family, and ancestors legally owned and lived on for generations "state land."

Israeli bulldozers, accompanied by soldiers, destroyed his home and "crops in the family's tiny fields, the terracing Atta had painstakingly done stone by stone for years and the cistern he had dug to collect rainwater (which Israeli authorities stated also belongs to the State)." 

"One hundred and fifty fruit trees were uprooted, including olives, figs, grapes and almonds, along with grape vines. Atta estimates the damage at $50,000."

He's "ruined. His family, which barely eked out a living from its small plot of land, is destitute." Asked what he'll do, he said he'll "keep on struggling," rebuilding what he can" until bulldozers and heavily armed soldiers return.

Years earlier, Atta tried and failed to get a virtually impossible permit to build on his own land. So in desperation he did it anyway, knowing the risk.

ICAHD helped him rebuild his home after it was first demolished. A second demolition came weeks later. He was "severely injured and arrested" at the time. Yet he courageously persists.

Imagine if the following happened in America, other Western countries, and most others:

"In January 2000, hundreds of settlers invaded the Jaber home...(T)hey smashed and burned it." Israeli police and Civil Administration officials there at time did nothing to stop what went on, complicit in the vandalism that occurred.

Settlers responsible for what happened were unpunished, "despite video documentation of the attack," ICAHD explained.

Atta, his wife and children endured numerous state-approved acts of violence against them, along with wanton destruction of their property.

Video documentation showed extremist settlers coming to Atta's property, "carrying machine guns...escorted by Israeli authorities" - permitting violence and vandalism to go on unchallenged.

In March 2013, Atta testified at the UN's Human Rights Council, explaining repeated Israeli criminal actions against him, his family and property.

Despite an Israeli court giving him written assurance that his home no longer will be demolished, Israel declared land he, his family, and ancestors legally owned and lived on for generations is now state land - to be used for exclusive Jewish development.

Ruthless Israeli actions against Atta have been and continue to be repeated against tens of thousands of Palestinians.

It's all about flagrantly illegal Israeli ethnic cleansing, state terror, and collective punishment, part of longstanding policy for maximum Jews and minimum Arabs in historic Palestine.

It's what the scourge of Zionism is all about, along with the long sought aim for a greater Israel on stolen land from bordering countries, redrawing the Middle East map, and achieving regional dominance together with America's presence.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Photo: By 'Amer 'Aruri, B'Tselem's field researcher in East Jerusalem - http://bit.ly/2Anf0Rt, CC BY 4.0, http://bit.ly/2SmgAu4

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On a Path Toward WW III

On a Path Toward WW III

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

A war able to end all future wars may happen - because of the destructive power of today's super-weapons, making pre-nuclear age ones seem like toys by comparison. 

The possibility of WW III is real - perhaps inevitable the way scary events are unfolding. 

If launched, global war 3.0 most likely will be waged with nuclear weapons and other WMDs - a doomsday scenario, crossing a Rubicon of no return, humanity's survival up for grabs. 

Bipartisan US hardliners dominating policymaking in Washington are hellbent on colonizing and controlling all countries worldwide - Russia and China the only ones able to challenge their imperial agenda, especially united.

Washington's diabolical agenda involves consigning rule of law principles and democratic values to the dustbin of history, establishing ruler-serf societies worldwide (no middle class anywhere), waging endless wars, US dominated NATO operating as a global military force, the UN and other international agencies operating more as imperial tools than already.

The brave new world powerful interests in America envision will be more unsafe and unfit to live in than already. That's where thing are heading unless increasingly likely global war kills us all.

Unfolding events should scare everyone. Endless US wars rage, other planned to be waged - Russia, China, and Iran key nations Washington targets ahead, wanting them and all others transformed into US vassal states.

Bipartisan hardliners in Washington operate by their own rules, no others. The Trump regime's pullout of the JCPOA and INF Treaty were shots across the bow, indicating what's likely coming.

Russian Security Council official Alexander Venediktov warned about the US seeking to radically change the nuclear missile balance of power in its favor.

Vladimir Putin warned that if the Trump regime leaves the INF Treaty as expected, and deploys missiles able to carry nuclear warheads near its borders, Russia will develop new missiles to counter them, adding:

"(W)e...have sea and airborne (missiles), and there will be no difficulty to carry out research-and-development and make them land-based if needed."

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said the following:

"Washington publicly announced its plans to withdraw from the (INF) treaty in October. Through the high-level bilateral channels, it was confirmed to us that this decision was final and wasn't an attempt to initiate dialogue," adding:

"We'll be forced to come up with effective compensating measures. I'd like to warn against pushing the situation towards the eruption of new 'missile crises.' " 

"Russia isn't threatening anybody, but has the necessary strength and means to counter any aggressor."

Its super-weapons exceed the Pentagon's best, including Avangard hypersonic intercontinental ballistic missiles (coming in early 2019) - able to carry multiple nuclear warheads and strike targets anywhere with pinpoint accuracy.

According to Tass, these weapons are "capable of flying at hypersonic speed in the dense layers of the atmosphere, maneuvering by its flight path and its altitude and breaching any anti-missile defense."

Last June, Putin said "the Avangard system is already in the process of its manufacture and has entered its serial production, and in 2019 we are planning to deliver it to the Armed Forces."

Trump regime hardliners falsely accused Russia of breaching the INF Treaty. Putin accused Washington of "blatantly violat(ing)" the landmark agreement by deploying its Aegis Ballistic Missile system in Romania and Poland. 

Trump officials "made hypothetical unfounded claims against us" - a pretext for likely greater US belligerence than already, the risk of military confrontation with Russia, China and Iran.

The US pullout "is one step towards an arms race," Putin warned. Trump regime policies got the Bureau of the Atomic Scientists to move its Doomsday Clock to less than a full minute to midnight.

It was an unprecedented action, signifying the risk of catastrophic nuclear war or ecocide over the Trump regime's threat to world peace and contempt for ecosanity.

Following Trump's announced INF Treaty pullout last October, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev warned that the landmark agreement he and Ronald Reagan signed in 1987 means a "new arms race" has begun, adding:

Trump wants the US "release(d) from any obligations, any constraints, and not just regarding nuclear missiles."

His belligerent agenda risks the demise of all post-WW II agreements to prevent another global war.

"There will be no winner in a 'war of all against all' - particularly if it ends in a nuclear war. And that is a possibility that cannot be ruled out," Gorbachev ominously warned, adding:

"Faced with this dire threat to peace, we are not helpless. We must not resign. We must not surrender. Russia must "take a firm but balanced stand" with other nations worldwide - aiming for peace, wanting catastrophic nuclear war avoided.

The threat of its eruption is real, a doomsday scenario if waged with nuclear weapons. They'll be no safe havens anywhere. Nuclear war risks ending all life forms on earth.

If waged, it'll prove higher human intelligence is a curse, not a blessing.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Photo: By United States Department of Energy, Public Domain, http://bit.ly/2EWKOR3

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Hysterical Media Promoted Fake News About Russia

Hysterical Media Promoted Fake News About Russia

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Major media in America and the West operate as mouthpieces for wealth, power and privilege - betraying their readers and viewers. 

They consistently feature disinformation, Big Lies and fake news on major issues, especially geopolitical ones, notably anything about Russia.

Their rubbish is polar opposite what journalism the way it should be is all about, available only through alternative sources, largely online.

A same day article discusses Oxford University's Computational Propaganda Research Project's (COMPROP) disinformation report on alleged Russian use of social media platforms to help Trump triumph over Hillary.

Cold hard facts discussed in my article debunked its fake news claims. A separate report is by a company called New Knowledge, saying it's involved in "monitor(ing) and defend(ing) against damaging social media security risks and disinformation..."

New Knowledge and COMPROP prepared their reports for the Senate Intelligence Committee. The company has longstanding ties to the US National Security Agency and Pentagon.

The same goes for COMPROP, closely connected to Western security and military interests. Both reports were prepared as part of the endless US-led Russia bashing campaign, vilifying the nation by invented accusations unsupported by credible evidence.

The implications of what's going on intensively are chilling, likely heading for confrontation between the world's dominant nuclear powers - the ominous risk of thermonuclear war, able to destroy planet earth and all its life forms if waged.

In January, the Bureau of the Atomic Scientists moved its Doomsday Clock to less than a full minute to midnight.

It was an unprecedented action, signifying the risk of catastrophic nuclear war or ecocide over the Trump regime's threat to world peace and contempt for ecosanity.

On Monday, hysterical major media reports discussed nonexistent Russian efforts to disseminate fake news through social media platforms to manipulate Americans.

The reports, and similar ones, resemble long ago disinformation from Joseph Goebbel's playbook. Because of its global reach, the Russophobic NYT is especially reprehensible.

All the news it claims is fit to read on major issues is utter rubbish, fake news masquerading as the real thing.

The reports for the Senate Intelligence Committee featured Russophobic propaganda. The NYT turned truth on its head, falsely saying they're "the most detailed accounts to date about how Russian agents have wielded social media against Americans in recent years."

Because Google, Facebook and Twitter found no evidence of Russian meddling in the run-up to America's 2016 presidential election, the above reports accused them of "evad(ing) (and) misrepresent(ing)" the extent of Russian activity on their platforms, according to the Times, adding:

"(D)ata they...provide(d) 'lacked core components that would have provided a fuller and more actionable picture,' " according to New Knowledge's report - upset over the firm's inability to back its baseless claims about Russian meddling with facts because they don't exist, its report saying:

"Regrettably, it appears that the platforms may have misrepresented or evaded in some of their statements to Congress."

New Knowledge official Renee DiResta had to admit that "(n)one of the data sets we were given" suggests Russian US election interference - what's widely known in Washington and the West but suppressed.

The Times said "lawmakers (on Monday) lashed out at the tech companies for hiding the ball" - code language for not inventing data to facilitate Russia bashing, to accuse it of US election meddling despite no credible evidence suggesting it.

The Times lied claiming "(s)ocial media companies...help(ed) spread Russian disinformation. Facebook, Google and Twitter all initially played down or denied the Russian activity on their platforms." 

"But over time, it became clear that Russia had used them to try to influence American voters" - a groundless accusation, no credible evidence proving it because none exists.

Testimonies by social media officials to Congress failed to deliver the message lawmakers and major media wanted to hear.

Endless claims about Russian US election meddling are bald-faced lies. Instead of reporting the cold, hard truth, the Times persists in falsely claiming Russian interference helped defeat media darling Hillary.

The neocon/CIA-connected Washington Post is just as reprehensible on this and other major issues - featuring Big Lies about Russia and most everything else vital to know, suppressing hard truths.

It lied claiming "Russia's disinformation teams trained their sights on a new target: special counsel" Mueller, adding: 

"Having worked to help get Trump into the White House (sic), they now worked to neutralize the biggest threat to his staying there."

"...Russian teams (use) social media platforms (as an) online influence operation aimed squarely at American voters" - citing the above explained Russophobic propaganda reports, proving nothing but endless Russia bashing, inventing phony reasons to sustain it.

Bipartisan US hardliners in Washington consider Russia America's leading enemy. Their hostile actions endanger world peace.

Yet Moscow persists in maintaining the myth of a Russo/US partnership, showing weakness not strength, failing to deal with Washington the only way it understands - responding to its toughness with similar actions, challenging what never should be tolerated.

The Wall Street Journal  is part of the Russia bashing crowd, reporting the same Big Lies about the Kremlin as other Western media.

It falsely claimed a Kremlin social media campaign aimed "to suppress African-American voter turnout and boost Donald Trump's presidential bid, while relying more on Instagram than previously known, according to" the fake news studies cited above.

Am I a Russian agent for daring to explain hard truths on major domestic and geopolitical issues, for discussing what I can support with facts, for opposing Washington's destructive imperial agenda, for refusing to go along with the notion that might makes right, for dedicating my efforts to world peace, equity and justice, for sharply criticizing the megalomaniacal US aim to rule the world, largely by endless wars on humanity.

I support ruling authorities for peace, equity and justice. I oppose governments against them, my own the most egregious.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Photo: http://bit.ly/2TbOSQG

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We are all Brothers and Sisters. It can be different, it must be different

We are all Brothers and Sisters. It can be different, it must be different   

Brothers and Sisters, we must free ourselves from the consuming money powers and the immoral habits that these have brought. Capitalism should not divide us any further, so that we remain each other's enemies. We are all brothers and sisters. It can be different, it must be different.

A forgotten Brotherhood                                                           

Today, the realization that we are all brothers and sisters seems further away than ever. The wars has never really ceased, only the opposing armies have changed. We have forgotten this ancient brotherhood. It has disappeared from our collective consciousness.

This Awareness must return. But how?                                  

It is the form of this Western society, the uncontrolled hunt for more money and power and the interwoven system of governments, industries and financial powers that forms the engine and is responsible for the destruction of our planet and ourselves. Businesses, capital (capital flows) and national economies must grow and pollute everything. The lowest instincts of greed and satisfaction of the individual are addressed to legitimize the case.

Without Ideals

The money system must be cast aside. The present-day interest-bearing money system leads humanity into slavery. Man must obey the pressure of money and be incorporated in the consumer-competition culture. The result is that people have become like zombies, colorless.  Without spiritual growth, which is important for the development of man and without ideals.

Many of us feel that our present way is not the one for which we were born. Leaders do not lead us, but use us as pawns. So many of us want to raise their children with hope in their hearts, but cannot break free of our responsibilities.

Divide and Conquer

Today the 'yellow vests' protesters are active, in the land of the revolutions. Where once a France was created of 'Freedom, equality and brotherhood'. The revolutionaries made frequent use of political mottoes and slogans to propagate their ideals. The yellow vests now have slogans like; 'Humanity over money,' 'Fuck the system' and especially the latter is extremely of great importance, what should connect us, should fraternize us; "We are the 99%."

Before the 'yellow vests' there were many other protest organizations, most with good intentions. However, unfortunately they always attract malcontents from both the extreme right and the radical left. The 'ruling class' knows exactly how to tackle such protests. Using chaos and violence, so that the real intentions are overshadowed and disappear in the background. Fighting violence with violence only leads to more and greater violence, so violence leads to nothing and to more division and oppression. As a result, divide-and-rule politics still reign and the real causes arise their responsibility and become even more powerful.

The people are still led by bad leaders and fed with evil. It also nourishes itself by allowing anger, fear, jealousy, grief, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego to continue.

But when the people are fed by good leaders, they are nourished with the virtuous qualities of man, although there will always be bad people. Good qualities such as joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith in ourselves.

It is the individual and the system between which we choose

The original inhabitants of America also entertained a form of democracy, which is much more democratic than the contemporary capitalist system. A circle of 'elderly' chose a leader, a chief, on account of his abilities and good behavior. A leader always had to take into account that his people consisted of free individuals, on whom he could not impose his will at leisure. He was in the service of the people and not the other way around. Dictatorial, narcissistic, psychopathic warriors got little chance.   

How can you own the Air?

I would like to leave the closing statements to the original inhabitants of America, as chief Seattle of the Dwamish tribe said in 1854, 

The great chief in Washington has spoken: He wishes to buy our land.                                                                                                     

But how can you buy or sell the air, the heat of the land? That is difficult for us to understand. If we cannot possess the marvels of the air and the rippling of the water, how can you buy it from us?

The white man does not pay attention to the air he breathes. As a man who has been dying for many days, he is numb to bad fumes.

He treats his mother, the earth and his brother, the air as merchandise, which he can exploit and sell. His hunger will strip the earth and leave only a desert.

We know this .... The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. Everything is connected to everything. What happens to the earth happens to the children of the earth.

"It was our belief that the love of possessions is a weakness to be overcome. . . . Children must early learn the beauty of generosity. They are taught to give what they prize most, that they may taste the happiness of giving. . . . The Indians in their simplicity literally give away all that they have-to relatives, to guests of other tribes or clans, but above all to the poor and the aged. - (Ohiyesa)

The agreements made by the great chiefs in Washington with the Native Americans have never been fulfilled. Not much has changed.

A short contribution from a modern wise American friend and writer Ethan Indigo Smith.

"We have not only accepted the institutional parasitism of our governments, corporations, and religions, we have adopted it. We have submitted to fascism and adopted being fascists so as to get a bite of the proverbial filet mignon. We are a culture of separation. Most people in this state seek to put you in a box when they meet you and when/if you do not fall in line with the cliches they emit and understand they are frustrated. This is because most people are accustomed to separating themselves from others so as to justify the predicament they are in and the predicament they perpetuate upon others. 

Sometimes we all just need to stop and note our similarities and also take note of our role in the status quo. However and wherever we can let's not permit parasitic oligarchy, and however and wherever we can let's not perpetuate parasitic oligarchy. It can really be that simple." 

The Christmas wish of 'White Rose Evolution' is to fraternise and to make clear to the elite that people and planet are more important than money and economy. Next generations also have rights for a better future. Let love, peace and wisdom rule. Let us continue to realize that we are all one, and revive the brotherhood of the nations.

Peter van Els 16-12-2018 

Special thanks to Aktie Strohalm

https://www.facebook.com/WhiteRoseEvolution/?fref=ts

Blogpost: http://lanariaamberkira.blogspot.nl/

Video peacemessage:  https://youtu.be/jh142luEszg  

I'm Peter van Els, born in 1957, living in the Netherlands. Autodidact. Life is my greatest teacher and i started writing end 2015, to stand up against lawless and corrupt governments and the real power, the shadow government, the world elite. "Enough is enough" . I said to myself, and besides, I think it's a moral obligation towards our earth and our posterity. I believe that all the good souls should be connect and unite in love, so we can change the system for the benefit of our planet and our posterity.For Worldpeace and Prosperity for all. Phone: 0031633819185

Photo: By Artist is Elihu Vedder (1836-1923). Photographed 2007 by Carol Highsmith (1946-), who explicitly placed the photograph in the public domain. - Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-highsm-02038 (original digital file), uncompressed archival TIFF version (60 MB), cropped and converted to JPEG with the GIMP 2.4.5, image quality 88., Public Domain, http://bit.ly/2VfPUwI

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Idlib Province Syria: A Festering Terrorist Stronghold

Idlib Province Syria: A Festering Terrorist Stronghold
 
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)
 
On September 17, Vladimir Putin let Turkish despot Erdogan deceive him into delaying Iblib province, Syria’s liberation.
 
It’s the last US, NATO, Israeli, Saudi, UAE, Turkish supported terrorist stronghold in the country.
 
Putin and Erdogan agreed on establishing a 15 – 20 km-wide demilitarized zone in Idlib along the Turkish border.
 
The plan was for Russian and Turkish forces to control it for an interim period ahead of delayed liberating efforts.
 
Things haven’t worked out as planned. For the past three months, thousands of al-Nusra and other terrorists reinforced their ranks. Weapons supplied by the US, other Western states, Israel, Ankara and Riyadh freely flow cross-border from Turkey into Idlib.
 
Terrorists holding province civilians hostage are now a more formidable fighting force than months earlier - because of Erdogan’s betrayal, Putin going along with what he should have rejected.
 
Terrorists in the province, including the deescalation zone, use their entrenched positions as a platform to attack Syrian military forces and civilians.
 
It’s no surprise that they continue flagrantly violating what Putin and Erdogan agreed on. The untenable situation won’t end until the unacceptably delayed liberating campaign begins in earnest, eliminating the scourge of their presence once for all.
 
On Tuesday, SouthFront said terrorists infesting Idlib “continue to violate (last September’s) ceasefire (agreement) in Idlib’s deescalation zone…almost on a daily basis” over the past three months.
 
Backed by Washington and its imperial partners, they’re terrorizing Iblib civilians, along with shelling and otherwise attacking Syrian forces and civilians in Hama, Aleppo and Latakia.
 
On Monday, Russian reconciliation center in Syria head Sergei Solomatin said the following:
 
On a virtual daily basis, “shelling attacks by (US-supported terrorists continue) from the settlements of Darh Abu-Assad, Safsara, Ikko, Arafit, Sandran (twice) and Jubb al-Zarur in the Latakia governorate, the settlements of Tell Maraq, Tell Bazam, Tell al-Maqtaa and Achan in the Hama governorate, and Aleppo’s Suqqari, Sakibiya, Zakhabiya, Makanis al-Duwairy neighborhoods and the area around the research center.”
 
On Sunday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem called liberating Idlib from US-supported terrorists “our (top) priority.” Dialogue doesn’t work. The only option is force.
 
He accused Turkey of violating the September Idlib deescalation zone agreement. Erdogan supports the scourge of terrorism in the province and elsewhere in Syria he pretends to oppose.
 
Separately, Syria’s military announced that henceforth it will respond to Israeli attacks on its territory by similar ones against the Netanyahu regime.
 
An unnamed official said “this means that a strike on an airport in Syria will be met with a strike on an airport in Israel and so on.” 
 
Russia’s Defense Ministry supplied Syria with medium and long-range missiles. Guided by its GLONASS satellite navigation system, they can strike targets anywhere in Israel accurately.
 
Moscow reportedly OK’d the policy change to aid Damascus defend its sovereign territory, protect its forces, as well as aid allied fighters and advisors in the country.
 
It’s also in response to Israel’s responsibility for downing a Russian IL-20 reconnaissance aircraft last September, killing its crew members, an action infuriating Moscow.
 
Russia informed Israel and the US that its military and support personnel are deployed at virtually every Syrian base. Its Defense Ministry will respond against any attacks threatening them.
 
A Final Comment
 
Western media, al-Jazeera and RT reported that on December 18, warring parties were largely observing ceasefire terms agreed to in Sweden.
 
AMN News and SouthFront reported otherwise. Fighting continues on the day it was supposed to cease entirely.
 
Ceasefire is more illusion than reality. More in future reports on events on the ground as they unfold.
 
VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
 
My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."
 
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UNGA Resolution on Alleged Russian Militarization of Crimea

UNGA Resolution on Alleged Russian Militarization of Crimea

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Ukraine's draft resolution on Russia's alleged militarization of Crimea was likely cooked up and written by Trump regime hardliners - maybe in cahoots with their UK counterparts.

Heavily US pressured, bribed and bullied UN member states adopted it by a 66 - 19 margin, 72 nations abstaining, wanting nothing to do with an unacceptable Russia bashing political statement.

The resolution was an exercise in willful deception, Washington, Britain, France, and their imperial partners supporting Kiev's coup d'etat fascist regime against Russian rights under international law.

The proceedings were world's apart from the UN's finest hours, disgracing the General Assembly and member states supporting what demanded denunciation.

The resolution turned truth on its head, claiming Russian forces in Crimea and Sevastopol, their own territory, violate Ukrainian  sovereignty and territorial integrity.

It condemned Russia's Crimea Bridge, spanning the Kerch Strait, connecting the country's republic with the mainland, the Kremlin's legal right.

It's a structural achievement, Europe's longest bridge, designed to handle vehicular and rail traffic. The road bridge opened on May 16 (months ahead of schedule), rail link completion expected in early 2019.

The Russophobic right-wing Washington Examiner urged "Ukraine (to) blow up Putin's Crimea bridge" - turning truth on its head calling the structure "an outrageous affront to Ukraine's very credibility as a nation."

The resolution turned truth on its head over what it called "the progressive militarization of Crimea by the Russian Federation as the occupying Power."

It unjustifiably criticized nonexistent Russian "destabilization of Crimea," claiming Moscow deployed "weapon systems, including nuclear-capable aircraft and missiles, weapons, ammunition and military personnel to its republic, falsely called the "territory of Ukraine."

It expressed concern of Russia's legal right to conduct military exercises anywhere on its territory, posing no threat to neighboring or other states.

Amendments proposed by Iran and Syria, calling for observance of Minsk I and II peace agreements were rejected - along with both countries calling for a thorough, independent, transparent investigation of Kiev's Kerch Strait provocation, holding individuals responsible for the incident fully accountable.

Ignoring US war of aggression in multiple theaters, Israel's endless war on Palestine without declaring it, and Ukraine's war on its own people in Donbass, the resolution criticized Russia's legal right to protect its territory, including Sea of Azov and Black Sea waters.

Russia's deputy UN envoy Dmitry Polyanskiy denounced what he called "an extremely politicized...mendacious...pernicious" resolution - an unacceptable exercise in Russia bashing, adding:

"No matter how many deceitful resolutions are adopted along with your Western sponsors and those who are afraid to cross them, this will not change anything in Crimea or around it. The key to solving all regional problems lies in Kiev, or rather in Washington, where Kiev is controlled."

Over five dozen UN member states supported what they should have denounced, bowing to unacceptable US demands.

The resolution followed Kiev's illegal Kerch Strait provocation in Russian waters, orchestrated by Trump regime hardliners, Ukraine's declaration of martial law in areas bordering Russia, mobilizing thousands of combat troops near Donbass for resumption of aggression against its people, and its plan to launch a belligerent incident along its border with Crimea before yearend, according to Sergey Lavrov.

Russia launched a criminal investigation into Kiev's Kerch Strait provocation. When completed, a report will likely explain what happened in detail, laying blame where it rightfully belongs no doubt.

Following the General Assembly vote, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow strongly "disagree(s)" with the measure, falsely blaming Russia for Kiev's unlawful actions.

A Final Comment

On Monday, the General Assembly adopted Russia's draft resolution on combatting the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism, and other practices fueling racism, xenophobia and related intolerance.

The measure expressed "deep concern about the glorification, in any form, of the Nazi movement, neo-Nazism and former members of the Waffen SS organization, including by erecting monuments and memorials and holding public demonstrations in the name of the glorification of the Nazi past, the Nazi movement and neo-Nazism."

It called for "the universal ratification and effective implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination" - what's commonplace in Israel, America, EU countries, Saudi Arabia, and in numerous other countries worldwide.

The vote was 129 nations for adoption, 54 abstaining, two alone against - the US and Ukraine.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

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Uzbekistan: Inside the heart of the Silk Road

Uzbekistan: Inside the heart of the Silk Road

I remember during the end of 2016 an informal talk with my friends from India, Nikhil and Suraj, lovers of adventures around the world, about the possibility to visit central Asia. For me living in Brazil, it would be an exotic destination and opportunity to know the country of the capital of silk road Samarkand which Alexander the Great from Macedonia said that this city was the most beautiful of that age. Also would be an opportunity to practice Russian which I learnt in Brazil in the Russian community....it's theme for another story.

Then we started this plan and in October 2018 we flew to Uzbekistan, four friends, two from India and two from Brazil.

The first advice for new travellers is be prepared for Uzbek bureaucracy, almost all countries need to request a visa and it is exempted only for some countries which have a more deep relationship with this country. Even in 2018 Uzbekistan applied some rules to this process be more flexible, however I advise to take care seriously on preparation to visit this country. Usually is necessary request visa at the Uzbek embassy in your country, and if it is not possible you request the visa "in transit"; it means that you need request it on arrival at Tashket airport, however you need to submit a petition to the government. Yeah it gets hard, but don't worry if your travel agency hasa partnership with suppliers in Uzbekistan, they can get your data and submit it to the government, and with this document together with the hotel reservation and flight tickets , beyond the passport which you present to the Uzbek customs.

Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and who has visited other countries in eastern Europe will perceive the Soviet influence and Russian style in architecture, because of Russian influence basically all people speak Russian, beyond that the Uzbek is the official language but is completely different from Russian and it is a mix of Turkish languages, nomadic languages and Slavic, usually they understand Tajik and Kazakh languages spoken by their neighbours. People in tourist services such as transfer drivers and employees of hotels speak English, but in many cases with not much quality, so it is recommended to know a little bit of Russian that certainly will give you the possibility to get a more deep immersion in this culture and trip experience.

During the preparation to come to these countries of central Asia, always take into consideration to bring cash in USD with you. Almost all places do not accept credit cards or travelers' checks. Certainly, most traditional hotels accept cards, and in some stores of Tashkent, however outside Tashkent going to the touristic cities of Bukhara, Samarkand or Khiva you need to bring money in cash with you. Also, I recommend not to change many US dollars to "Som", the money of Uzbekistan, the exchange rate of this coin is deteriorated in comparison with the US dollar and 50 dollars can be changed in a package of "Som". You will feel rich with 100 USD, as you will be able to eat in restaurants, purchase souvenirs and pay for additional trip packages of 1 day for example relatively without paying much money for that.

In Tashkent it is possible to cover in 1 or 2 days the most important places to visit like Independence Square, the Teleshayakh Mosque, the Amir Temur square and museum, the Chorsu bazaar and take the experience to get a ride on the local metro. These places are not so popular as touristic destinations, then the benefit is not so crowded which gives the opportunity to take more photos with quality and spend more time exploring in detail the museum and buildings.

The negative point is related to cleanness, the street food is not so clean and is the same with the water, then it is necessary be in alert with these situations when you visit markets, and places with street food and things to drink. An example of that is the meat sold at Chorsu bazaar which is clearly not well refrigerated. This advice is applied to whole country and if you travel with kids, be careful!! Taking the preventive behaviour, the experience is amazing.

We explored the main points of Tashkent and went to Bukhara, a traditional city of Uzbekitan and located in the extreme west of the country close to the border of Turkmenistan. The access to this city can be made by air, train or car. We decided to use the traditional train Afrosiyob ( it means city of black water, Afro- city, siy - water and ob - black) that departs from Tashkent to the main cities of the country and the Uzbek people are proud of this train. In fact, the quality is good, and the government concentrates efforts to improve the quality and services inside the train and makes a lot of propaganda with the population and foreign visitors. Without paying much it is possible to purchase a ticket in the first class and enjoy the landscape during 4 hours from Tashkent to Bukhara. In the train they have TV and show Uzbek traditional dance shows and offer traditional breads and beverages.

In Bukhara there are some nice hotels inside traditional Uzbek buildings and the immersion in Uzbek culture can be felt. In this area in 2 days it is to possible cover basically all main points without transport, it is possible to walk and visit all madrasas, museums and restaurants. Lyabi Haus located in the centre of Bukhara looks like an oasis in the desert and gives access to the local traditional market (trading domes) in this place I recommend visiting an old blacksmith that is still in operation, Kalon minaret, Poi Kalyan Mosque , Mir I Arab Madrasah and Abdulaziz madrasah. All these places are traditionally Islamic and during the day they stop to pray according to Islamic traditions, it is possible to participate in that a as tourist but following some rules, such as for women the mosques have specific places for them. On Lyabi Hauz usually there are traditional dances presentation, violin presentations and easy access to markets.

After visiting these places and eating the traditional shaslik, the barbecued lamb make on skewer and eating samsa, the bread stuffed with meat (horse), or potatoes we went to Shakhrisabz. Usually the travel agencies offer packages with tours from Bukhara to Khiva or to Shakhrisabz. Khiva is located in the north west of country close to Turkmenistan border and part of autonomous region of Kara Kalpakstan is a beautiful place to visit with a mixed culture Uzbek and Turkmenistan. But my friends and I decided visit Shakhrisabz in the south of Uzbekistan close to the Afghanistan border.

 In terms of safety, Uzbekistan is relatively safe, it is registered by the authorities the activities of some extremist groups in the east of the country, and if you look for recommendations from your embassy to visit or not  Uzbekistan probably the advice will be to not visit or visit with care. We had chosen a transfer from Bukhara to Shakhrisabz and the trip took 3 hours crossing the main highways of south Uzbekistan. We crossed the regions of Qarshi, Qoson, Qorovulbazar and Qashqadarya, all these places we crossed through checking points managed by the Uzbek army. From Bukhara to Shakhrisabz there are around 6 check points in a distance of 265 Km and from the city of Termez to the border of Afghanistan there are 10 check points in a distance of 20 Km, on this way we can understand the behaviour of the Uzbek army against threats on the border with Afghanistan.

Shakhrisabz is the city of Amir Temur the conqueror of Uzbekistan and in this city it is possible to find the garden of Timur and madrasas, the architecture is similar to other regions and it is possible to be more inserted in the history of Uzbekistan. Beyond that there are some local restaurants that offer dishes with high quality at affordable prices, however, get tips from locals, this will help to figure out the best option. As I speak Russian we established a friendship with the transfer driver who offered to us a visit to a restaurant belonging to his friend, then we had an amazing and personal opportunity to enjoy a traditional Uzbek cuisine of plov and shashlik.

From Shakhrisabz we went to the capital of the silk road, the city of Samarkand, crossing by car the mountains was a unique experience to have interaction with street markets and local people and visit places outside the tourist routes.

 Samarkand is the most iconic city in Uzbekistan and place of the tomb of Amir Temur located in Gur Emir, the tomb of Saint Daniel and a great complex of temples, madrasas, mosques and places of silk road influence. The square of Registan the most popular postcard of Uzbekistan the three more important mosques are located in this place. There are a lot of houses with good quality in this region that are possible to use as a base to visit these places, taxis are available in this region but the communication can be a problem as the drivers do not speak English very well. Ideally having a transfer available is the best. Outside the main touristic places there are also hotels however the public lightings, markets and restaurants have less quality. The best option for this place to get more deep in the history of the region and get a guide to explain all points which are rich in culture and history.

Around 20 km from the centre of Samarkand it is possible to visit the museum of the silk road that has a lot of info about the history of silk road, this museum has guided visits and info in many languages, beyond this place there are the village of Konigim where there is produced paper in the old style like papyrus. From Samarkand to Tashkent it is possible to get flights or use the traditional train afrosiyob. The trip by train takes around 2,5 hours.

Nothing will prepare you for Uzbekistan, this amazing country will feed your soul with feelings, flavours and smells that you will never forget. This ancient country is not so explored by tourism but your rich history and tradition is an indispensable route for global trekkers.

Dimas Wiegerinck Dimas is a global trekker passionate of travel, and is business manager of the travel agency Bons tempos viagens on the sunny coast of Cascais in Portugal. geral@bonstemposviagens.com e http://bit.ly/2AkQv7E

By Vasily Vereshchagin - Tretyakov Gallery, Public Domain, http://bit.ly/2SoyT1z

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